The Stolen Child
by AmethystBlue
Summary: Inspired by W.B.Yeats' poem of the same name. It's time for the next generation to continue the story. JarethOC, and rated T just to be safe.
1. Not All Birthdays Are Happy

**Disclaimer : I do not own anything recognisable here. 'Nuff said.**

**A/N : A guide to reading...**

**"Blah" - spoken**

**"_Blah_" - spoken with emphasis**

**_Blah_ - thoughts/internal monologue**

**Enjoy!**

**-----**

It was the middle of a cool, autumn afternoon. The breeze was light and crisp, tossing and twirling the dry leaves that fell in red, orange and yellow hues. It was quiet, too- only the occasional hum of a passing car disturbing the peaceful serenity to be found here.

The young woman sat at the base of an old spruce tree, her knees close to her chest. Dark hair hung down in curtains on either side of her face, hiding her from the world. Intense blue eyes pored over the minuscule print of the book on her lap, greedily drinking in every word. The wind lifted her hair, causing her to brush it out of her eyes impatiently. Any passers-by could be forgiven for mistaking her for a statue otherwise, so little did she move.

"_Come away o human child, to the waters and the wild_," she read softly, her tone almost reverent. "_With a faery hand in hand; for the world's more full of weeping, than you can understand._" Her voice was low and very distinctive- few had trouble picking her out from a crowd. Her father told her she could probably sing the birds out of the trees, but she had never tried. For all her love of fantasy, she was a practical girl, as full of contrasts as the world she built for herself.

The sound of the screen door opening jolted her out of the world of words. "Anna, come on! We are going to be late!" Toby Williams had grown up to be a dashing man- blonde-haired and blue-eyed, with a permanent twinkle in his eyes that spoke of many things seen and unseen. He was a well-liked man, running a medium-sized law firm in his father's footsteps. His beloved Lucy had wanted children, but some unforeseen complications had prevented them from having any. As a result, they had adopted Anna...and it was a cruel twist of fate that robbed him of his wife barely two years later. The scars were only just starting to heal- not that he ever told Anna so, but then again, Toby suspected he didn't have to.

Anna looked up from her book to where her father stood on the back porch, his jovial smile eliciting a small one of her own. Getting to her feet she dusted herself off absently as she walked towards him. She was dressed all in black, as usual- black long-sleeved shirt, black jeans and boots. Tucking her book under one arm she pulled an elastic band off her wrist and tied her hair back in a loose ponytail, a few strands escaping to frame her face. "Ready, Dad," she said simply.

An hour and a half later, a short, flesh-coloured ball of energy barrelled straight into Anna just as she was getting out of the car, squealing at the top of his five-year-old lungs.

"ANNA'S HERE! ANNA'S HERE! ANNA'S HERE!!" Anna only just remembered to turn her wince into a smile as she looked down at her youngest cousin.

"Hey, Bobby! My, look how you've grown!" Picking him up she spun him around a few times, much to the little boy's laughter and her own. Toby beamed as well, carrying a large box wrapped in silver and blue paper up to the porch of a white Victorian-style house where a woman stood, hands on her hips and a smile on her face and in her green eyes.

"Sarah! How are you?" he greeted her, giving her a one-armed hug. Sarah, his half-sister, beamed back and kissed him on the cheek. A lot had changed since..._that_ night, one of them being that they had become much closer than even full-blooded siblings would be, much to Irene and Robert's surprise and pleasure.

"I'm doing great! Thanks so much for coming," she replied. Toby shrugged easily.

"As if we'd miss Lily's birthday party. She's, what, sixteen now?" Sarah nodded.

"Yep!" She was distracted by sudden screaming laughter- Anna was tickling Bobby everywhere she could reach, and the little boy was writhing on the ground in delighted agony. Toby's smile turned a little wistful- he hadn't seen Anna quite so open in a long time...so long, in fact, he had almost forgotten she was only nineteen years old. _She behaves too much like an ancient grandmother,_ he thought.

The sudden slamming of an upstairs window drew his attention, up to where he caught a glimpse of long, dark hair vanishing behind a curtain. Sympathetic blue eyes met suddenly weary green. "Still having those days, huh?" Sarah sighed, nodding again, but with a great deal less enthusiasm and more sadness.

"She's angry because I wouldn't let her go to a party with her friends. Really, Tobes, sometimes I just don't know what to do with her..."

Anna heard the adults talking, but continued playing with Bobby as if she did not. Lily had never liked her, seeing her as a rival in everything despite the fact she had no desire in the least to compete with the younger girl for anything. On the other hand, Lily didn't really like any of her family members- a phase Anna was fervently grateful she never went through.

"Anna! Will you keep an eye on Bobby for me? I still need to get the cake done for the party," Sarah called, Toby having gone inside to put the birthday girl's present away. Anna smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing, Aunt Sarah." The older woman vanished inside, leaving Anna and a now breathless Bobby on the front lawn. Picking the little boy up Anna carried him around the house to the backyard, where they proceeded to play a rather vigorous game of tag.

Up in her room, Lily Thomas scowled as she saw her cousin and uncle arrive. She was Sarah's replica in every way...multiplied by a factor of ten. She was fiery, headstrong, stubborn...and incredibly spoilt. Everything just had to be done her way, or she would throw a temper tantrum or sulk for days or scream at her mother...sometimes all three at once. The difference? She had none of her mother's peaceful temperament, something Sarah found particularly trying, especially now that she had reached those dreaded teenage years.

"Stupid people who can't mind their own stupid business," she muttered. "I hate them...I hate them all!" Thanks to them, her mother had forbidden her to go out. Thanks to them, her friends would think she was a lame _wimp_ for staying home to celebrate her birthday with her family like a good little girl. Angrily she threw one of her books at the wall, following it swiftly with a kick to the wastepaper basket near her desk that was, mercifully, empty. Her room was cluttered, decorated in hues of blood red and black with several posters of various metal bands plastered to the walls. It was in vain that Sarah had tried to get her little girl interested in fantasy, like she had been- Linda was just too active and headstrong to sit still and listen to fairy tales for long.

The sounds of laughter filtered in through the partially open window, and despite herself she looked out again to see her little brother being tickled by that horrid cousin of hers, Lana or whatever her name was. Lily had not been pleased when her little brother took a much greater liking to her cousin than to his own sister, and the thought sent a surge of fresh rage through her veins causing her to slam the window shut and pull the curtains closed. Just as quickly as it came, however, the feeling melted away to be replaced by a sudden, deep sorrow.

"It's not fair!" she said, dashing away the tears roughly with the back of her hand. "It's just not fair!" She threw herself on the bed at the last, burying her face in the pillow and dissolving into piteous sobs. At that point, she hated everyone and everything.

-----

Lily didn't leave her room for the entire day.

Sarah had tried to get her to come down- several times, in fact- but her entreaties were greeted at first with silence, and then blasted metal music, and finally Lily shouting at her to go away. In the end, Anna, Toby, Sarah, Bobby and Gary- Sarah's husband- sat down to a rather subdued birthday dinner sans the birthday girl. Toby had attempted to keep things light-hearted, cracking a few jokes, but his efforts were met with strained chuckles and he finally ceased when Anna gave him a look. After dinner, Toby suggested taking Sarah and Gary out for the evening, to which both adults agreed readily. Anna did not have to be told to baby-sit the younger two, and it was with a smile that she waved them off.

"Anna, can you read me a story?" Bobby asked, looking wide-eyed and innocent in his blue striped pyjamas. Anna smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Alright. What do you want me to read?"

"Um..." he looked at the dark wooden bookshelf for a minute, thinking about which book he wanted her to read, then finally settled on a slim volume with yellowed pages and a red velvet cover. "This one." Anna looked at the title, emblazoned in gold: _The Labyrinth_. She smiled, remembering how Aunt Sarah read this to her once, and Anna had been puzzled as to why she kept changing the words as she read- until she told her the real story of her journey through the Labyrinth.

"Are you sure, Bobby? You know your mother doesn't like you reading stories like this," she teased. Bobby nodded with a cheeky grin.

"But you won't tell her...will you?" he replied with puppy dog eyes. Laughing, Anna relented. Tucking him in his medieval-themed bed in his bedroom, Anna sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the book to begin reading.

"_Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived with her wicked stepmother..."_

It wasn't long before the little boy was fast asleep, lulled by Anna's soothing voice that lowered in volume until she finally stopped, tenderly stroking his hair. Perhaps it was the lack of a mother that caused her to develop such a maternal side, but she bonded with children far better than anyone else her age did. Pushing the thought aside she put the book on the nightstand, leaving the door slightly ajar as she headed to her aunt's room next door to watch some television.

Lily heard the adults leave, and saw the opportunity to get some food- she was hungry. Sneaking downstairs was no trouble, and she found the leftovers of dinner that she popped into the microwave to be reheated. She was about to sit down and dig in when Anna suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," she said softly. Lily stiffened and turned to fix her with a glare.

"What do you want? Haven't you ruined my life enough?" she demanded angrily. Anna raised an eyebrow in response._ Such melodrama._

"Ruined your life? And just how have I 'ruined your life'?"

"If you didn't come Mom would have let me go out with my friends, instead of having some stupid dinner here!" Anna exhaled slowly and shook her head. There was no reasoning with her cousin, and for a moment she wondered if it really was worth getting to know such a brat. She left Lily in the kitchen and went back upstairs, taking her collection of Yeats' poems with her. Outside, a storm was brewing, black clouds gathering and lightning flashing white against the darkness. Anna glanced out the window, and shuddered.

She couldn't shake the feeling something was about to go horribly, horribly wrong.

-----

**So...how was it? Good? Bad?..Terrible? Please, I need to know! For my muse's sanity, if not mine...though I do wish he'd help out a little more. ~sighs~ Goblin Kings. Can't live with 'em, can't write without 'em. Such a pity...oh, and I apologise beforehand if it seems I've made the OCs too 'black and white', as it were. The relationship dynamics will be fixed over the course of the story...more shades of grey, for one thing. And remember...**

**'Please leave a contribution in the little box!'**


	2. A Challenge Issued

The storm broke right over their heads.

Anna was startled by the sudden loud clap of thunder a split-second before it started pouring cats and dogs. The thought crossed her mind that she should go and check on Bobby, but she shook it off brusquely. _He's safe. I would hear him if he woke up_, she thought.

Unfortunately for her, she had quite forgotten there was an angry teenager on the loose.

Anna heard the murmurs from the room next door, murmurs that soon rose to shouts, and she could hear Lily's voice quite clearly, as well as Bobby's tearful replies. Alarmed, she rushed into the room just in time to see Lily throw the 'Labyrinth' book on the floor in a fit of pique.

"I wish you had never been born, you brat!" the teenager was screaming. "In fact-" her eyes suddenly took on a mean gleam, and Anna's eyes widened. "- I wish the goblins would come and take you away..."

"Lily, no!"

"...right now."

An eerie silence fell for several moments before Anna lost her temper. Grabbing Lily by the shoulders she shook her so hard the younger girl's teeth seemed to rattle in her head. "You idiotic, foolish girl!" she said in an icy tone. "You know the story better than anyone, and still you..."

"What? Don't tell me you actually believed that rubbish?!" Lily raised her voice in return. "Widdle Anna still believes in faiwytales?" she taunted nastily, and Anna's grip tightened.

"I swear, Lily, if anything happens-" She was cut off by the sudden sound of soft, rapid thumping on the windowpane. Slowly, two heads turned to face it, and Anna's blood froze.

A white owl was flapping insistently on the glass.

She could only stare in a sort of horrified fascination at the creature, it's great, round, dark eyes reflecting the light from the teddy bear-patterned nightlight. Lily was gaping openly, and she was barely aware that she had released the younger girl. Lightning seemed to flash continuously outside, turning the owl's snowy plumage a bright white. _This can't be happening_, she thought frantically. _Oh, God...this can't be happening..._

The storm rose to a pitch and a sudden strong gust of wind blew the window open. Lily shrieked and ducked behind her, but Anna only moved back half a step, her eyes widening even more as the owl landed on the carpet and transformed before her every eyes into a tall, imposing figure she had only ever heard tell of from Sarah.

Jareth. The Goblin King.

He was dressed just the way Sarah had described, too; flowing cloak, black armour that could only be Goblin in design, with a sickle-shaped pendant hanging from a chain around his neck. His features were sharp and angular, rather at odds with his fine, wispy blonde hair that stuck up in all directions and fluttered in the wind. He stared at them with an intensity that made her blink, but she recovered herself quickly enough to match it.

"Where is Bobby?" Her voice was low and perfectly serious. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you know?" Anna fought back a scathing retort, glancing over her shoulder at Lily who was staring at the Goblin King with a curious expression...oh, no. Anna knew that look- God knows she'd seen it so often it was ridiculous. _Well, isn't this just bloody fantastic_, she grumbled internally. _First she wishes Bobby away, now she's crushing on the Goblin King..._

"I want my brother back," the younger girl attempted to speak, her voice holding a bit of a quaver. "Please," she added. Anna rolled her eyes, not bothering to keep it internal this time. The man noticed, and his other eyebrow quirked up as well.

"What's said is said," he replied, folding his arms under his chest. Anna could almost hear the gears turning in Lily's head as she stepped out from behind her, her expression set in a determined manner.

"Where is he?" At that, Anna shook her head, sighing in exasperation as she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"Lily, go to your room, please." Lily rounded on her, fury sparking again in her eyes.

"You're not my mother! You don't boss me around!" Anna could almost have strangled her by now, but she forced herself to keep her composure.

"Not five minutes ago you said you didn't believe in _faiwytales_," she mimicked her words, and Lily's lips pursed. "All of a sudden you want to play the hero? Go to your room, Lily. I will not tell you again." Anna dropped her voice even lower, her tone taking a slightly menacing air, but all it did was rile the younger girl up even more.

"You think you're so smart? That you know everything?" she exploded. "If my _bitch_ of a mother can do it, why can't I?" Anna's eyes narrowed, as did the Goblin King's, though neither of the girls noticed. "You just want-"

"Finish that sentence and you will wish the goblins had taken _you_ instead," Anna cut her off, glaring. Lily was ready to continue anyway when the third person in the room cut them both off.

"If all you intend to do is stand there and bite each other's heads off, I see no reason for my continued presence here," the Goblin King said smoothly. "Unlike you mortals, _I_ have a kingdom to run and time is short." Anna turned to stare steadily at him for a moment before turning back to Lily.

"You want to prove your point? Fine. I challenge you to a race; first person to reach the castle beyond the Goblin City wins Bobby back...if His Majesty permits it?" she looked back at the Goblin King, who looked a bit taken aback. No one had ever suggested something of the sort before. Then again, there had never been _two_ people who wanted to take back a wished-away...

"And when you lose?" Anna smirked, ever so slightly...but he caught it nonetheless.

"If neither of us makes it to the castle, then all three of us are yours to do with whatever you please."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "One other condition; in the..._highly_ unlikely event either of you does make it to the castle, then the other will remain in the Underground...permanently." He paused to let his words sink in as he smirked. "Do you still wish to continue this challenge?" Anna glanced at Lily, who appeared to be digesting the terms, then looked back at him and nodded once.

"I accept your terms."

Lily managed a glare at her calm answer before muttering sullenly. "I agree."

Then, with a dramatic gesture worthy of the most jaded veterans of vaudeville, he turned and pointed straight out the window.

"There!"

The two girls walked forward, staring out into the night. In the distance, they could see the castle, a massive monument atop a hill, with numerous spires and turrets and domes. Below it, a vast, intricate maze of walls and hedges lay for miles off to either side. From where they stood, they could not make out much detail, but the same thought flashed in both their minds.

_So that's the Labyrinth._

"Do you still want to look for him?"

Lily jumped at the sudden closeness of his voice, but all Anna did was step to the left, moving away from her cousin and the King that had come between them. Her eyes were fixed on the castle in the distance, and she did not turn as she spoke.

"How long do we have?" An old withered tree suddenly had a face with thirteen numbers and two hands on it, and Anna glanced at it out of the corner of her eye. Five minutes had already gone.

"You have thirteen hours. I would get a move on, if I were you." Anna turned to look at Lily then, and her expression was at once contemptuous and goading.

"Tell you what; I'll be generous and give you five minutes' head start. I'm sure even you would be able to get in by then," she said rather nastily, and Lily's fists clenched.

"You arrogant, pompous- argh!" Throwing up her hands in the air the younger girl stormed off, and Anna could do nothing but watch her go. She sighed, forgetting she had an audience, then started when Jareth spoke again.

"You deliberately antagonise her...why?" He sounded genuinely curious, and Anna turned back to face him.

"One has to be cruel in order to be kind," she said wearily, but offered no more explanation as to her cryptic reply. Jareth continued to stare at her, and she shrugged. "I'd better be going. I assume I'll be seeing you before long?" Her answer was a smirk, and Anna shook her head as she turned and headed down the hill. _Caught between smirking Kings and snarling cousins...what next?_


End file.
